Provincetown writer's play about dementia chosen for Boston's first Queer Voices Festival

Gwenn Friss, Cape Cod Times
Updated ·2 min read
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Provincetown playwright Patrick Riviere’s play about an aging gay couple renewing their vows while dealing with dementia is on stage March 8-10 as part of Boston’s first “Queer Voices Festival.”

Riviere’s “Remembering When I Used to Remember” was chosen from more than 75 (10-minute) plays submitted to Boston Theater Company. Seven plays, all written by members of the the LGBTQ+ community, were selected to be performed at the Plaza Theatre of the Boston Center for the Arts, 539 Tremont St., Boston. Shows are at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $25 or pay what you can.

Riviere, who has been in all aspects of creative work and is now producing short documentaries, is perhaps most widely known for singing at Provincetown Town Hall with Patti Lupone and for his spot in a popular Super Bowl commercial that aired in western Massachusetts.

Riviere said he is excited to be included in the festival but also a little nervous to see “Remembering When I Used to Remember” brought to life as he watches from the audience.

“Most of my work has to do with people who are ‘other’ — women are often others, people with disabilities, people who identify as queer,” Riviere said in a telephone interview from his Provincetown home.

Riviere said his affinity for people who are different for any reason was honed by the close relationship he had with his older brother, who had Down Syndrome.

“My first play was about a straight couple who had a child with Downs who died,” said Riviere, whose brother died at age 16, when Riviere was 14.

'He taught me so much'

“I was so grateful to have him in my life. He taught me so much about how to live,” Riviere said of his brother.

The play being staged this weekend, Riviere said, was loosely based on issues faced by a cousin, who was straight, who suffered a head injury.

Provincetown playwright Patrick Riviere at his computer with a photo of himself and his older brother in the background. Riviere said his brother, who died of complications from Down Syndrome at age 16, greatly influenced his views of the world.
Provincetown playwright Patrick Riviere at his computer with a photo of himself and his older brother in the background. Riviere said his brother, who died of complications from Down Syndrome at age 16, greatly influenced his views of the world.

The couple in the play could have just as well have been straight, Riviere said, but writing about ‘others’ outside social norms allowed him to help dispel stereotypes, such as showing his gay characters just living regular lives rather than partying every weekend on Fire Island.

“Their otherness is just a small part of who they are,” Riviere said of his characters. “Their humanness is what makes them who they are.”

Provincetown playwright Patrick Riviere
Provincetown playwright Patrick Riviere

Other plays being staged are:

"Thanks for the Mammaries!" by Bailey Jordan Garcia; "Right Field of Dreams" by Stephen Kaplan; "Little Black Dress" by John Mabey; "All I Want for Christmas" by De'Aveyon Murphy; "Sharing Slices, or The Unfortunate Way I Still Love You" by Elijah Punzal and "Frigid" by Emma CR Skinner.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape playwright's dementia production wins spot in Boston Queer Voices